Young Entrepreneurs’ Wares To Be Showcased At Central Mall

Te’Arah Gray is quite the busy entrepreneur this summer, and she’s only 12 years old.

The daughter of April Gray of Fort Smith recently created a business, T2 (squared) Designs, to compete in Central Mall’s second annual Kids Inc. Business Contest. After submitting a business idea and handmade creations such as a T-shirt with beaded-fringe trim, “Hello Kitty” rings and duct tape-based flip-flops, friendship bracelets, wallets and pens, Gray was named one of the winning businesses for the contest’s showcase.

“I’m excited about this,” she said with a shy smile. “This is my first time to enter the Kids Inc. Contest.”

The showcase event will be 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 27 at Central Mall’s center court, 5111 Rogers Ave. Teresa Richards, marketing/specialty leasing manager for Central Mall, said she expects the event to draw many local and out-of-town shoppers.

“We’re excited to be doing this program again,” said Richards. “This program was created to promote the creativity, hard work and ideas of area children, and it’s great to offer these children the opportunity to see how things are run in the mall.”

Children ages 6-15 posted their business ideas on the Central Mall Facebook page in June and early July before public online voting took place July 3-11. All five winning entries are impressive, Richards said.

“Perfect Polish is a great place to have fun, feel beautiful and be pampered with new polish, glitter tattoos and massages,” she said. “And Paracord Palace offers hand-made paracord survival bracelets in a variety of sizes and colors. Each bracelet is tightly woven in a cobra knot pattern and is made with two colors of paracord.”

Crazy Colorful Creations “is all about making anything and everything” out of duct tape, such as jewelry, book covers and other ideal gift items, while Twisty Christy’s Balloon Camp offers a balloon for a day, as well as tutorial information on how to twist balloons, Richards said.

“This program allows children to bring their products or their services to see how a business runs,” she said. “It’s great for the kids and it’s great for the community.”

Gray agreed. She spent Wednesday morning with relatives, determining how she will display her items during the showcase.

“I’m excited but I’m a little nervous — this is the first contest I’ve won,” said Gray, a former Orr Elementary School student who will attend Chaffin Junior High School in the fall. “Everything is no more than $4 or $5.”

“Oh, the flip-flops, Te’Arah, you have to sell them for more than $5,” said Gray’s grandmother, Zuella Gray. “I would think that you could get at least $7 for each pair of those shoes, dear.”

When asked if she plans to become a business owner someday, Gray nodded and smiled.

“I would like to make things and sell things, yes,” she said.

April predicted that her granddaughter will own and operate a successful business in the future.

“I’m proud of Te’Arah,” she said. “She’s very creative, and she hasn’t had art lessons. She’s a natural.”

“Yes, that’s true,” added Zuella Gray. “Te’Arah started dabbling with making things when she was 8 years old. Back then, I would try to throw out things — just trash and stuff — and Te’Arah would say, ‘Oh, no, no. Don’t throw that out.’ I would say, ‘What do you want with this?’”

Zuella Gray then laughed.

“Te’Arah would tell me, ‘Grandma, I can make something good and useful out of that,” she said. “It’s true. She can make something out of anything. She’s always been creative and artistic like that, and she always will be that way.”

Kids Inc. Business Contest Winners Showcase

When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 27

Where: Central Mall, 5111 Rogers Ave.

Children with T2 (squared) Designs, Perfect Polish, Paracord Paradise, Crazy Colorful Creations and Twisty Christy’s Balloon Camp will sell their goods and services at the event. The five winning businesses were selected by public vote via the Central Mall Facebook page.